St Kilda Road residents are being relocated into hotels during major works for the Melbourne Metro rail project.

Sixteen residences — a mix of individuals and families — have been moved as part of an 11-day program of works by Yarra Trams along St Kilda Rd to move tram lines.

The relocations are just one of a number of initiatives of the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority to ease the pain of disruption caused by current works to realign tram route 58 along Toorak Rd.

Commuters are being given coffee vouchers, muesli and lollies a thank-you for changing between buses and trams along St Kilda Road.

The trams are off the rails during school holidays as part of 24 hour pre-construction works for the $11 billion Metro Rail tunnel that will run between South Yarra and North Melbourne once completed in 2026.

The tram re-routing will allow the service to continue to operate when major works to build a new station at Domain begin next year.

From the start of the month until next week, St Kilda Rd is being reduced to one traffic lane in each direction between Domain Road and Toorak Road West/Kings Way.

"We are reconfiguring the way trams run in this area, so we are setting it up for the long term while we build the station box down the road," Metro Rail Authority chief executive Evan Tattersall said.

"We have approximately 8,000 people on trams in both directions in peak period and about 3,000 vehicles that go through this area."